有声双语经典：野性的呼唤

作者简介

杰克？伦敦是美国著名的现实主义作家，出身贫寒，做过童工、工人和水手。一生创作了19部长篇小说，150多篇短篇小说，代表作有《马丁？伊登》《野性的呼唤》《白牙》等。

内容简介

第1章 遭遇绑架 巴克从不读报纸，否则他就会知道从普吉特海湾到圣迭戈一带，对于每一只肌肉强壮、长有温暖长毛的大狗来说，正危机四伏。 人们在北极圈里发现了价值连城的黄金，数以千计的人乘船蜂拥到北部地区。 这些人都需要狗。肌肉强壮的大狗可以帮他们干活儿，温暖的皮毛可以供他们抵御严寒。 巴克住在加利福尼亚州阳光明媚的圣克拉拉谷的一所大房子中。大家都称之为米勒法官的房子，它远离公路，掩映在树丛中。如果近看，你能瞥见它四边都有门廊，周围到处是大树和草坪。房子的后院甚至比前边还要大。 房子旁边有几个大马厩、几排爬满了藤蔓的仆人房和一排库房，长长的葡萄架、绿色的牧场、果园和浆果地点 缀其间。井边矗立着一个泵站和一个大水泥槽。米勒先生家的男孩们早上跳进这个水泥槽里游泳，炎热的下午在这里保持凉爽。 巴克是这里的首领，掌管着一切。他出生在这儿，已经在这里度过了四年的光阴。当然，这儿还有其他狗，但他们都无足轻重，来了又走。有的挤在狗窝里，还有的，例如日本哈巴狗图茨，还有那条没毛的墨西哥犬伊莎贝尔，他们整天窝在家里，很少去外面。 另外，还有几十条猎狐 。每当图茨和伊莎贝尔在窗户边探出头，他们都要冲这两只狗狂吠。那两只看门狗有手拿扫帚和拖把的女佣保护。 可是巴克既不是看门狗也不是犬舍犬，他是这里的头儿。他和法官的儿子们一起在水泥槽中戏水游泳；陪法官的女儿莫莉和爱丽丝散步，给她们当保镖；在寒冷的冬日，他趴在法官的脚下，享受熊熊燃烧的炉火；他把法官的孙子驮在背上，跟他们在草地上打滚，或者陪他们徒步冒险到喷泉和浆果地。 巴克在狗群中总是向大家发号施令。他从来不把图茨和伊莎贝尔放在眼里，在米勒法官的宅邸，他才是国王，是所有地上爬的、天上飞的，甚至是人类的大王。 他的父亲埃尔默是一条圣伯纳犬，曾经是大法官形影不离的好伙伴，巴克本打算追随父亲的脚步。虽然他比父亲个头小很多——因为他母亲是一只苏牧，所以他体重只有140 磅。无论如何，他的个头已经不算小了。 巴克生活优渥，也许正因如此，他颇为自命不凡。幸好，狩猎和户外活动锻炼了他的肌肉，使得他免于沦为娇生惯养的看门狗。 巴克在1897年过的就是这样的日子。就在那一年，克朗代克的新发现让世界各地的人蜂拥到天寒地冻的北方。 然而，巴克不读报纸。 巴克同样不明白的是，园丁的助手曼纽尔是个坏家伙。他爱赌博，因此需要钱，曼纽尔可没多少钱，除去养活老婆孩子的，他手里就没几个子儿了。 一天晚上，法官到葡萄种植家协会开会去了，男孩子们正参加体育运动。偏偏就是在这个晚上，曼纽尔对巴克下了毒手。 曼纽尔和巴克穿过果园走了出去，没有一个人看见。巴克以为这只是再平常不过的散步。除了一个人，没有人看见曼纽尔把巴克带到名为学院公园的小火车站。那个人和曼纽尔说了几句话，一手交钱，一手交货。 “你应该包装完了再交货。”陌生人没好气地说。 曼纽尔把一条绳子对折，套在巴克的项圈下面，说： “只要一拧绳子，就能勒得他够呛。” 巴克居然彬彬有礼地接受了绳子，虽然他不喜欢被套上绳索，但他已经习惯了信任熟悉的人。然而，当绳索 被交到陌生人手里时，他发出了一声低沉的怒吼。出乎意料的是，那绳子紧紧地勒住了他的脖子，勒得他都喘不上气了。 巴克勃然大怒，向那个人扑过去。那人一把抓住他，把他摔翻在地。绳索毫不留情地勒得更紧，巴克上气不接下气地挣扎着。他每喘一口气，胸口都上下起伏。他从未被人如此虐待，从未如此愤怒！但当那两个人把他扔进行李车厢时，他浑身无力。 巴克和法官出过很多次门，他知道自己在一辆行驶的火车上。他睁开眼睛，怒目圆睁，盯着绑架他的人。那个人跳过来抓他的喉咙，巴克动作比他快多了，一口咬住那个人的手不松，直到他被勒得再次昏过去。 “他有癫痫病。”那人说。行李员被打斗的动静吸引过来，查看发生了什么，那人把受伤的手臂藏起来，不让行李员看见。“我带他去旧金山，那里的医生说可以治好他。” 火车停站的时候，那人把巴克带下火车。他们来到旧金山海滨一家酒馆后的棚屋里。 “我一共只得了五十元，”他抱怨道，“下次给我一千块都不干了。”他的手被咬得血肉模糊，左裤管从膝盖直撕到脚踝。 “那家伙得了多少？”酒馆老板问。“一百，”他答道，“一分都不肯让。”“那就是一百五了，”酒馆老板说，“这狗值这么多。” 巴克忍着痛苦听他们的对话。他本打算面对他们，却被扔在地上，一再被勒得喘不上气，直到他们从他脖子上锉下了那个沉重的青铜项圈。 他们从他脖子上取下绳索后，把他扔进一个看起来像 笼子一样的箱子里。那个晚上余下的时光他只好躺在那里平息胸中的怒火，抚慰受伤的自尊。这些陌生人究竟为什么要抓他呢？ CHAPTER 1 Kidnapped Buck did not read the newspapers. If he did, he would have known that trouble was brewing from Puget Sound to San Diego. Not only for himself, but for every dog that was strong of muscle with warm, long hair. Men in the Arctic had found a yellow metal that was worth a lot of money. They had found gold. Steamships rushed thousands of men into the Northland. These men wanted dogs—heavy dogs with strong muscles to work. They needed dogs with furry coats to protect them from the frost. Buck lived at a big house in the sun-kissed Santa Clara Valley in California. Judge Miller’s place, as it was called, stood back from the road. It was half hidden among the trees. If you looked closely, you could catch a glimpse of the porch that ran around its four sides. It sat upon wide-spreading lawns adorned with tall trees. The back of the property was even bigger than the front. There were great stables, rows of vine-covered servants’ cottages, and an array of outhouses. Long grape arbors, green pastures, orchards, and berry patches dotted the land. There was a pumping plant for the well and a big cement tank. It was in this tank that the Miller boys took their morning plunge and kept cool in the hot afternoon. Buck ruled over all of it. He had been born here, and he had lived here for all four years of his life. There were other dogs, of course. But they didn’t count. They came and went. Some lived in the kennels and others, like Toots, the Japanese pug, and Ysabel, the Mexican hairless, stayed indoors. They rarely put a paw down on the ground. On the other hand, there were scores of fox terriers who yelped at Toots and Ysabel whenever they poked their eyes up at the window. The house dogs were protected by the housemaids, who were armed with brooms and mops. But Buck was neither a house dog nor a kennel dog. The whole land was his. He plunged into the swimming tank with the Judge’s sons. He escorted Mollie and Alice, the Judge’s daughters, on walks. On wintry days, he’d lay at the Judge’s feet before the roaring fire. He’d carry the Judge’s grandsons on his back or roll them in the grass. He guarded their footsteps through wild adventures down to the fountain and berry patches. Among the terriers, Buck talked in a bossy manner. He ignored Toots and Ysabel, for he was king over all creeping, crawling, flying things of Judge Miller’s place. Humans included. His father, Elmo, was a St. Bernard and had been the Judge’s constant companion. Buck planned to follow in his footsteps. He wasn’t as large as his father. He only weighed 140 pounds thanks to his mother. She had been a Scotch Shepherd dog. Nevertheless, his size was great enough. Buck lived the life of a noble beast and felt, perhaps, too much pride in himself. But he saved himself by not becoming a mere pampered house dog. Hunting and outdoor life had kept him trim with hardened muscles. This was the way in which Buck lived in 1897, when the Klondike strike dragged men from all over the world into the frozen North. But Buck did not read the newspapers. Buck also did not know that Manuel, one of the gardener’s helpers, was a bad man. Manuel had a love for gambling. But gambling requires money. Money is not something Manuel had a lot of. After supporting his wife and children, there was none left for him. One night, the Judge was at a meeting of the Raisin Growers’ Association. On this same evening, thys were busy with their sporting games. As luck would have it, this also happened to be the night of Manuel’s betrayal. No one saw Manuel and Buck go off through the orchard on what Buck thought was just a stroll. With the exception of a man, no one saw them arrive at the little train station known as College Park. This man talked with Manuel and money exchanged hands. “You may want to wrap up the goods before you deliver him,” said the stranger. Manuel doubled a piece of rope around Buck’s neck under his collar. “Twist it and you’ll choke him plenty.” Buck accepted the rope with dignity. He didn’t want it around his neck but he had learned to trust men that he knew. But when the rope was placed in the stranger’s hand, he growled. To his surprise, the rope tightened around his neck and shut off his breath. In a quick rage, Buck ran at the man. The man grabbed him and threw him over on his back. The rope tightened mercilessly and Buck struggled to breathe. His chest heaved with each breath. He had never been treated so poorly! He had never felt such anger. But his strength dimmed as the two men threw him into the baggage car. Buck had traveled enough with the Judge to know he was on a moving train. He opened his eyes and saw a fury of anger as he stared at his kidnapper. The man sprang for his throat but Buck was too quick for him. His jaws closed on the man’s hand, and he didn’t release it until his breath was choked out of him once again. “He has fits,” said the man, hiding his mangled hand from the baggage man who came to see about the noise. “I’m taking him to San Francisco. A doctor there thinks he can cure him.” When the train stopped, the man took Buck off the train. They went to a little shed in the back of a saloon on the San Francisco waterfront. “All I get is fifty for it,” he grumbled. “I wouldn’t do it again for a thousand cash.” His hand was mangled and his left pant leg was ripped from knee to ankle. “How much did the other guy get?” the saloon keeper asked. “A hundred,” was the reply. “Wouldn’t take a penny less to help me.” “That makes 0,” said the saloon keeper. “He’s worth it.” Buck listened to all this while suffering. He attempted to face them but was thrown down and choked repeatedly until they filed the heavy brass collar off his neck. After the rope was removed, Buck was flung into a crate that looked like a cage. He lay there for the rest of the night nursing his anger and wounded pride. Why did these strange men want him? ★译林“有声双语经典”原版引进美国教育专家特为学生编写的英语名著，精选贴近中国学生英语习得水平的著作，选目涵盖各国经典文学作品，让孩子在阅读中提高文学鉴赏能力。 ★甄选优质中文译本，配以导读、作家作品简介和插图。著名儿童文学作家黄蓓佳长文导读推荐。 ★聘请资深高考听力卷主播朗读英语有声书。有声书播放平台操作便捷，只需扫描书中二维码，即可收听英文音频，让孩子一边阅读一边提高英语听读能力。 ★《野性的呼唤》自出版以来被翻译成47种语言，很多国家的中小学将其列入学生推荐阅读图书。 ★被世界各国多次改编为影视、动画作品，主角巴克的形象风靡全球。